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Andrew Peterson is a singer/songwriter who has released a number of stunning albums, not least his latest release 'Counting Stars'. This Dove Award nominated artist is a fascinating guy - just read our interview with him and you'll soon see why. We find out about everything from why he finds songwriting so hard, to the fantasy adventure story he is currently writing.
Tell us a little bit about your new album 'Counting Stars' and what the inspiration behind it was?
My last few albums have been concept albums, which is to say they had an overall theme or story, a unifying concept....
Read More Andrew Peterson is a singer/songwriter who has released a number of stunning albums, not least his latest release 'Counting Stars'. This Dove Award nominated artist is a fascinating guy - just read our interview with him and you'll soon see why. We find out about everything from why he finds songwriting so hard, to the fantasy adventure story he is currently writing.
Tell us a little bit about your new album 'Counting Stars' and what the inspiration behind it was?
My last few albums have been concept albums, which is to say they had an overall theme or story, a unifying concept. I still love those kinds of albums, and think it's sad that with the advent of iTunes and other single-song downloading platforms, people don't often listen to albums anymore. They bounce around, from one artist to the next. They skip ahead to the next song before the current one is even over. I know they do that, because I do that. But I also think the album is a fine way to present art. The songs should fit together somehow. They take the listener on a journey. And that way the listener is able to fall in love with songs that, on the first listen, they may not have liked so much. Most of us can remember albums or songs we didn't like at first becoming our favorites. But so often now people give a song thirty seconds to move them, instead of thirty listens. All that to say, with this record I didn't have a concept. I just wrote a bunch of songs. And the cool thing (to me, anyway) is that, like it or not, the album is still coherent. The songs go together. And with this record, the songs are more or less about God's promises. Promises to be with us, even to the very end of the age, promises not to forsake us, promises made to Abraham thousands of years ago, now lived out in you and I as the Church. I didn't set out to tell that story, but there it is. How's that for an earful?
Which is your favourite track on the album and why?
Of course, that's always a hard question to answer. I like all of them, or they wouldn't be on the record. But today my answer is "The Reckoning". It's the closest I get to rock and roll, and the song conveys pretty much exactly how I feel these days. I'm confused by the Lord. But I love him. I long to see him face to face. At the same time, that thought scares me half to death. In the end, I just want this story God's telling to wrap up so I won't have to feel this ache anymore.
What's your song writing process?
It's different every time. I write alone, usually. Most of my ideas are bad, so I don't like writing with other folks. I like to get everything just right before I'm ready to let my buddies hear what I've been working on. If they have suggestions, I take them back to my den and hash them out in private. But I feel like I know less about songwriting now than I ever did. It's still as hard as it ever was. Maybe even harder. What I do know is that I shouldn't be surprised when it's difficult.
If you could work with any song writer, who would it be and why?
I think I'd love to write a song with Marc Cohn someday. He's been at the top of my list of favorites since I was in high school. His first album basically rescued me from hair metal. I heard "Silver Thunderbird" and thought, "Oh, so that's what a song can do." It wasn't a song about some girl. It was a story, a collection of images, a slightly silly sentiment turned beautiful by a melody and a raspy voice. So I'd love to be able to create a song with him. Even if no one ever heard it.
Who are your musical influences?
Well, I'm probably influenced by all those rock and roll bands I listened to in high school: Lynyrd Skynyrd, Extreme, Tesla, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Most people would be surprised to hear that I loved that stuff, and it's hard to hear it in my songs--but I'm certain they influenced me somehow. How could they not? Then after high school I started paying attention to songwriting: Marc Cohn, Toad the Wet Sprocket, James Taylor, Paul Simon. And in the middle of all that I stumbled on this guy named Rich Mullins, who helped me see that there was a way to write a song that satisfied my musical and lyrical snobbery and was also (wonder of wonders!) about Jesus. I had never heard such a thing. And it changed me. His songs helped me to believe I was loved by Jesus, and that there was a place in the Kingdom for even a guy like me.
In your opinion, what makes the perfect song?
It's a combination of honesty, truth, and beauty. When I say honesty, I mean the song should convey the writer's own fears, doubts, and hopes; the song should tell the truth--proclaim it, when necessary; and it should be beautiful, which is to say excellent. The writer should care about the craft of the thing, about putting something light-bearing into the world. That's what I shoot for, whether or not I hit the mark.
What advice would you give to any aspiring musicians or songwriters out there?
I think they should absorb great music and books. Read or listen to it actively. Ask yourself what's great about your favorite songs. Then write, write, write. Work at it. And don't be surprised if it's hard. Dan Allender said anything worth doing is going to be difficult. And finally, surround yourself with community. You have to enter the artist's battle with comrades-in-arms. They should be people whose craft you respect, or you won't listen to them, and they should be encouraging, or you'll probably quit.
You're stuck on an island, it's hot, you only have enough battery life left to listen to one song on your mp3 player. What track is it?
"Creed", by Rich Mullins. That's the first thing that popped into my head.
What does the next year hold for Andrew Peterson?
I'm in the middle of writing a Young Adult fantasy/adventure series called The Wingfeather Saga, which is pretty much one of my favorite things in the world to do. All this time I've been playing music I've dreamed of writing books. So for the last few years I've been splitting my time between songwriting/touring and writing a story about three kids on the run from the Fangs of Dang. I'm writing the third book now, for publication in 2011. Now that Counting Stars is released, that's at the top of my list.
Find out more at: www.andrew-peterson.com
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